Flower Power vs Nuclear Power, April 26, 2018

Southern California fights nuclear power with one-million flowers on the 32nd anniversary of Chernobyl meltdown

Public Safety Advocates will distribute one- million sunflower seeds to be planted to raise awareness of local radiation dangers at San Onofre nuclear plant on April 26th

On Thursday, April 26th, on the 32nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the nonprofit Public Watchdogs will publicly announce its drive to distribute one-million sunflower seeds in San Diego and Orange Counties.

The purpose of Sunflower Day is to raise awareness of the reckless and irresponsible dangers posed by deadly radioactive waste at the hands of Southern California Edison, the owners of 3.6 million pounds of deadly Radioactive waste at the now-shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

According to Charles Langley, the executive director of Public Watchdogs, “Sunflowers are a poignant symbol of a looming nuclear disaster at the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station known as SONGS in Northern San Diego County. The group’s goal is to get one million flowers planted in protest of Edison’s dangerous nuclear waste plans. ”

“Our goal is to give away, and plant 100,000 packets of sunflower seeds that are guaranteed to grow in Southern California in order to raise awareness of the dangerous nuclear waste situation at San Onofre” says Nina Babiarz, a Public Watchdogs board member.

BACKGROUND:

On January 31st, 2018, exactly five years after aradiation leak set off the nuclear warning sirens at San Onofre, Southern California Edison, the owner of the failed “SONGS” nuclear power plant began moving the first of 72 delicate stainless steel canisters filled with hot nuclear waste. Each of the deadly payloads is being loaded into concrete silos 108 feet from the crashing surf and sparkling sugar sand beaches at San Onofre State Beach Park.

Protesting San Diego’s “Mobile Chernobyls”

Public safety advocates have called the cans “Mobile Chernobyls” because each thin-walled can contains more deadly radiation than what was released during the entire Chernobyl disaster.

America’s most dangerous nuclear waste dump

The storage system at San Onofre is especially dangerous because the utility in charge of the waste, Southern California Edison, has opted to use cheaply manufactured cans that are only guaranteed to last 25 years by the manufacturer.

What’s more, the thin-walled stainless steel cans are subject to stress and corrosion cracking from the salt air and possible saltwater inundation from the Pacific Ocean.

The entire system is only guaranteed for ten years

The deadly hot radioactive plutonium inside each can is lethal to all human life for at least 250,000 years, and the uranium waste is deadly for millions of years. Yet despite this danger the cans that hold the lethal cargo are only guaranteed to last 25 years, and the silos that hold the waste are guaranteed to last no more than ten years (get a copy of the warranty here).

Finally, Edison has no monitoring system in place to warn the public if there is a leak due to yet another design flaw or human error during or after their burial.

Worst location in the USA

According to Robert Pope, Public Watchdogs’ Geologist, the current location couldn’t be worse. “The location of the San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dump is the worst possible location the USA,” says Pope, “Especially since the stainless steel cans are being placed in close proximity to an earthquake fault and directly in the path of a tsunami inundation zone.”

Sunflowers: An ominous reminder of an “inevitable accident”

“We believe another nuclear accident at San Onofre is inevitable,” says Public Watchdogs’ board member, Nina Babiarz. “Once the disaster happens, it is likely that much of Southern California will be rendered uninhabitable for tens of thousands of years. It is our hope that by planting millions of sunflowers, we can give residents and property owners a beautiful yet ominous reminder of the dangers of nuclear waste at San Onofre.

Once the cans of nuclear waste are removed from the Spent fuel pools, which are constantly chilled by diesel generators, the outer surface of the thin-walled storage cans can easily reach 750 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hot enough to vaporize all the hair off your body, not to mention a 1″ steak.The current status of the deadly waste:

Edison began moving the first of its 72 deadly containers into their beachfront silos during the early morning Blood Moon Eclipse of January 31, 2018. Coincidentally, this date was the five-year anniversary of the radiation leak that shut the nuclear reactors at San Onofre down forever.

The fight to stop them

Public Watchdogs is the only organization that is actively suing the government in Federal Court to stop the deployment of what it calls an “insane plan” to install backyard bombs on a public beach by Southern California Edison.

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Updates

SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION HERE! “Say it with flowers” and show the world that FLOWER POWER trumps Nuclear POWER! Help Public Watchdogs raise awareness about nuclear waste by signing our online petition and we’ll send you a FREE pack of these magnificent award-winning flowers from American Meadows, the USA’s premier sunflower seed company as our way of saying thanks! Sunflowers naturally absorb harmful radiation and are... Read more →

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